Technical error or bad weather? What caused Ajit Pawar’s plane to crash in Baramati?

Wreckage of the plane that was carrying Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar after it crashed during landing, near Baramati in Pune district. Pic/PTI

In the wake of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister (CM) Ajit Pawar's tragic death in a plane crash at Baramati on Wednesday, aviation experts and friends of the pilot have shared insights on possible causes of the accident.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Captain (retired) Ehsan Khalid, a former Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot and a longtime friend of Captain Sumit Kapur, the deceased pilot of the ill-fated aircraft, said, "It was a tragic incident. I have known the pilot since my Sahara days, almost two decades ago. He was an experienced pilot. I am told that as the plane was making its first approach, it had to go around and make a second approach. I do not know whether the first approach was abandoned due to bad visibility alone, or whether technical issues also played a role. To my knowledge, no call of technical malfunction has been reported."

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Captain Khalid further stated that the mishap could have occurred owing to a combination of bad weather, technical issues, or pilot judgment error.

"According to the media and the DGCA, visibility was marginal. That means it was neither very good nor very bad. Marginal visibility creates a kind of ‘go or no-go' situation. At smaller airfields like Baramati, which do not have many electronic aids, the actual visibility may have been lower than reported. The pilot's perception in the aircraft may differ from the reported figures. The DGCA has taken control of all aircraft documents to determine whether there were any technical shortcomings at the time of release," Captain Khalid told ANI from Seattle.

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Ajit Pawar death: Aviation specialists highlight multiple possible causes

Another aviation expert, Subhash Goyal, offering additional context in the incident, said that four possible reasons could have led to the crash: a sudden technical glitch, landing gear not deployed, a bird strike, or a sudden drop in visibility.

"Any of these could have played a role. Pilots undergo medical check-ups, and aircraft are thoroughly inspected before take-off. Normally, Air Traffic Control (ATC) coordinates the landing, but the small airport near Pune where the plane was supposed to land does not have computerised ATC facilities. The pilot had to land by visually assessing the airfield. Without ATC guidance, it is possible the pilot did not see the airfield at the last minute, or in rare cases, even blacked out," Goyal told PTI.

Both the experts emphasised that the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has launched a probe into the crash to ascertain the cause.